The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

Harry took the bunch of keys from the ignition, bent forward and produced a metal box from under
the seat. Inserted a key in the lock, opened the box and lifted out a black, short-barrelled Smith &
Wesson. ‘One off the windscreen matched.’
Katrine shaped her mouth into a mute ‘O’ and enquired with a nod of her head if it was the yellow
house.
‘Yup,’ Harry responded. ‘Professor Filip Becker.’
He saw Katrine Bratt’s eyes widen. But her voice was as calm as before. ‘I have a feeling I’ll soon
be pressing delete.’
‘Maybe,’ Harry said, flipping open the cylinder of the revolver and checking there were bullets in
all the chambers.
‘There can’t be two men who kidnap women in this way.’ She tilted her head from side to side as if
warming up for a boxing contest.
‘A reasonable assumption.’
‘We should’ve known the first time we came here.’
Harry observed her, wondering why he didn’t share her excitement and what had happened to the
intoxicating pleasure of making an arrest. Was it because he knew it would soon be replaced by the
empty sensation of having arrived too late, of being a fireman sifting the ruins? Yes, but it wasn’t
that. It was something else, he could sense it now. He had a nagging doubt. The fingerprints and the
recordings from Storo Mall would go a long way in a court case, but it had been too easy. This
killer wasn’t like that; he didn’t make such banal errors. This was not the same person who had
placed Sylvia Ottersen’s head on top of a snowman, who had frozen a policeman in his own freezer,
who had sent Harry a letter saying, What you should ask yourself is this: ‘ Who made the
snowman?’
‘What shall we do?’ Katrine asked. ‘Shall we arrest him ourselves?’
Harry couldn’t hear from the intonation whether this was a question or not.
‘For the time being we wait,’ Harry said. ‘Until backup is in position. Then we’ll ring the bell.’
‘And if he isn’t at home?’
‘He’s at home.’
‘Oh? How do—?’
‘Look at the living-room window. Keep your eyes focused.’
She watched. And when the white light changed behind the large panoramic window he could see
she understood. The light came from a TV.
They waited in silence. There were no sounds. A crow screeched. Then it was quiet again. Harry’s
phone rang.